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You might want to print this page out or grab a journal and jot down your answers to the following questions as you take the next step in your study.

Reread the passage from the study Unusual Moments and Unusual Skills,

1 Samuel 17:34-37

34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”

Imagine you are standing face to face with a young shepherd boy named David, you are out on a hillside watching sheep, as the day drifts by you say to him, “you know David, the experiences you have had on this hillside, all alone, away from the rest of the world, are one day going to help you kill a 9 foot tall giant and lead an entire nation!”

What do you think he would have said to you?

If you were David what would you have said?

Probably the same thing…it sounds crazy.

But sometimes what we learn in the moments that are seemingly useless and disappointing end up being nothing short of miraculous.

1) Name a compensatory skill you have developed over your lifetime

(Remember this is something you have learned to make up for some sort of disadvantage you have struggled with)

2) How does this compensatory skill help reveal your identity and your destiny?

3) Looking back over your life, what is one way God has taken a delay, some disappointment, or disadvantage and used it for good in your life?

4) How has the thing you answered in number 3 helped cultivate your character?

5) How has it helped you develop a gift or a talent?

6) How has it taught you a lesson you would not have learned any other way?

If you want to talk about this more take a moment and drop Jeff Dixon an e-mail at jdixon@touchandchange.com You can ask a question, offer some additional thoughts, or even ask something else about your journey of faith. Please make sure your reference “Skills” in the subject line when you write.